(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus having therein or connecting thereto a plurality of devices by which a received image is recorded on a paper, and the recorded paper is output to an operator. The devices may be, for example, a printer, a plotter, or the like.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a plurality of recording methods are known for facsimile apparatuses to record a received image on paper. One method is called a thermal recording, wherein thermal recording paper is used. The thermal recording paper is a rolled paper, and for example, has a length of two hundreds meters. The rolled paper of two hundreds meters length corresponds to seven hundreds sheets of A4 size cut paper. Another method is called a thermal transfer recording, wherein a transfer ribbon or a transfer film is used to transfer a received image onto a plain paper which is usually rolled. The other method is called a photo type printing, for example, a xerographic printing, wherein cut paper is used and photo type printing is carried out on the cut paper.
However, the above recording methods have the following drawbacks.
In the thermal recording, the rolled paper can be easily set in the facsimile apparatus, and a continuous printing is possible, but the quality of a recorded image is not good (low resolution of about 200 dpi), a color printing is impossible, and the preservability of thermal recording paper is not good.
In the thermal transfer recording, the preservability of the recording paper is good because plain paper is used, and the rolled paper can be easily set in the facsimile apparatus, but the quality of a recorded image is not good (low resolution of about 200 dpi).
In the photo type printing, the preservability of the recording paper is good because plain paper is used, the color printing is possible, the quality of the recorded image is good (resolution is 400 to 1,000 dpi), and the preservability of the recording paper is good because plain paper is used, but the number of sheets which can be set once is small, for example, 250 sheets, a paper jam may occur, and an image of a size larger than the size of the cut paper is impossible. In addition, a running cost for one recording sheet in the photo type printing is twice that of the thermal printing.
Further, a printing apparatus which allows both thermal printing and thermal transfer printing by attaching thereto or detaching therefrom a thermal transfer ink ribbon, is provided, but the quality of the recorded image is not good.
Japanese Patent Publication No.62-225064 (published on Oct. 3, 1987) discloses a facsimile apparatus containing a first recording portion usually recording and outputting image data, and a second recording portion recording and outputting image data with a different recording method from the first recording portion in response to a manual input from an operation panel. However, in this facsimile apparatus the operator must determine which recording portion to be used, and must manually operate the facsimile apparatus, before receiving the image data. That is, the operator on the transmitter side must notify the operator on the receiver side of which recording portion should be used, before transmitting the image data.
Japanese Patent Publication No.1-182052 (published on Jul. 19, 1989) discloses a facsimile apparatus containing a color recording portion, a monotone recording portion, a color/monotone determining portion, and a system control portion. The color/monotone determining portion may receive discrimination information indicating whether image data to be transmitted is color image data or monotone image data to determine whether the image data is color or monotone, or the determination is carried out based on whether or not the received image data contains a color difference component when no discrimination information is received. However, the disclosure of the technique for realizing the above determination based on the color difference component is not sufficient for a person in the art to understand or perform the determination.
Commercially available products named xe2x80x9cTRI/O T500xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cTRI/O T1000xe2x80x9d (manufactured by Elite High Technology, Inc., 1990) has functions of a command exchange, a MODEM, and a memory (hard disc). When an IBM personal computer AT, a scanner, and a printer is connected to the apparatus xe2x80x9cTRI/O T500xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cTRI/O T1000xe2x80x9d, a facsimile text received by the apparatus xe2x80x9cTRI/O T500xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cTRI/O T1000xe2x80x9d can be output from the printer (facsimile receiving function); an image data input from the scanner can be transmitted through the apparatus xe2x80x9cTRI/O T500xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cTRI/O T1000xe2x80x9d by facsimile communication (facsimile transmitting function); and image data input from the scanner can be output from the printer through the apparatus xe2x80x9cTRI/O T500xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cTRI/O T1000xe2x80x9d (copy function). Namely, the above apparatus xe2x80x9cTRI/O T500xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cTRI/O T1000xe2x80x9d is a facsimile MODEM having data ports which can be connected with a personal computer, a scanner, and a printer. However, the above apparatuses cannot operate without a personal computer connected thereto. Namely, the operation is carried out under control of the personal computer.
An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus wherein an optimum paper-recording method can be automatically selected according to a type of a received image, to improve economical and practical efficiency.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus, comprising: a communication unit for receiving and transmitting image data and information on a type of the image data; a plurality of data output ports each for allowing a connection with a recording device to pass therethrough image data so that the image data is supplied to the recording device; a recording device determining unit for receiving the information and determining one of the recording devices which can be connected to the plurality of data output ports, as a recording device by which the received image data is to be recorded, based on the information; and a selector unit for outputting the image data received by the communication unit through one of the data output ports corresponding to the recording device determined by the recording device determining unit.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus, comprising: a communication unit for receiving and transmitting image data and information on a type of the image data; a plurality of data recording devices each for recording the image data received by the communication unit when the data recording device receives the image data; a recording device determining unit for receiving the information and determining one of the recording devices, as a recording device by which the image data is to be recorded, based on the information; and a selector unit for transferring the image data received by the communication unit to the recording device determined by the recording device determining unit.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus, comprising: a communication unit for receiving and transmitting image data and information on a type of the image data; at least one data output port each for allowing a connection with a first recording device to pass therethrough image data so that the image data is supplied to the first recording device; at least one second data recording device each for recording the image data received by the communication unit when the second recording device receives the image data; a recording device determining unit for receiving the information and determining one recording device among the first recording device which can be connected to the at least one data output port, and the at least one second recording device, based on the information; and a selector unit for outputting the image data received by the communication unit, based on the determination by the recording device determining unit, through one of the at least one data output port corresponding to the first recording device, or to one of the at least one second recording device.
In the above constructions of the first, second, and third aspects of the present invention, the above information indicates whether the image data is color data or monochrome data.
In the above constructions of the first, second, and third aspects of the present invention, the above information indicates a quality level of the image data.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus comprising: a communication unit for receiving and transmitting image; a plurality of data output ports each for allowing a connection with a recording device to pass therethrough image data so that the image data is supplied to the recording device; an image type determining unit for examining the image data received by the communication unit to determine a type of the image data; a recording device determining unit for receiving the information and determining one of the recording devices which can be connected to the plurality of data output ports, based on the type of the image data determined by the image data determining unit; and a selector unit for outputting the image data received by the communication unit through one of the data output ports corresponding to the recording device and determined by the recording device determining unit.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus comprising: a communication unit for receiving and transmitting image data; a plurality of data recording devices each for recording the image data received by the communication unit when the data recording device receives the image data; an image type determining unit for examining the image data received by the communication unit to determine the type of the image data; a recording device determining unit for receiving the information and determining one of the recording devices, as a recording device by which the image data is to be recorded, based on the type of the image data determined by the image data determining unit; and a selector unit for transferring the image data received by the communication unit to the recording device determined by the recording device determining unit.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus, comprising: a communication unit for receiving and transmitting image data; at least one data output port each for allowing a connection with a first recording device to pass therethrough image data so that the image data is supplied to the first recording device; at least one second data recording device each for recording the image data received by the communication unit when the second recording device receives the image data; an image type determining unit for examining the image data received by the communication unit to determine a type of the image data; a recording device determining unit for receiving the information and determining one recording device among the first recording device which can be connected to the at least one data output port, and the at least one second recording device, based on the type of the image data determined by the image data determining unit; and a selector unit for outputting the image data received by the communication unit, based on the determination by the recording device determining unit, through one of the at least one data output port corresponding to the first recording device, or to one of the at least one second recording device.
In the above constructions of the fourth, fifth, and sixth aspects of the present invention, the above image type determining unit determines a quality level of the image data as the type of the image data.